Aircrew Badge - U.S. Navy-U.S. Marine Corps-U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Navy-U.S. Marine Corps-U.S. Coast Guard

The United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard issue the same version of the Aircrew Badge. The badge is a variation on the Naval Aviation Observer Badge with the letters AC centered on the badge's front.

In 2009, the United States Navy converted the badge from a qualification to a warfare designator like the Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist, Enlisted Submarine Warfare Specialist, and Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist. The title was changed from Naval Aircrew (NAC) to Naval Aircrew Warfare Specialist(NAWS).

Known as Naval Aircrew Wings and Coast Guard Aircrew Wings, it is authorized for personnel who have undergone extensive training in flight operations of naval aircraft. Such training includes weapons management, electronic warfare, and water survival. Contrary to most other services, naval aircrewmen do not receive their wings after aircrew school. Rather, they receive their wings only after completing their platform respective pqs (roughly 1 year past the completion of training).

The Naval and Coast Guard Aircrew Wings are issued in a single degree with no upgrade devices used or authorized. A Naval enlisted person who has qualified for his or her Naval Aircrew Badge places the initials "NAC" in parentheses after his or her rate and rating; for example, a Chief Cryptologic Technician Interpretive, after having qualified for their NAC Badge, is identified as a CTIC(NAC). Most Officer Aircrew members who are not Naval Aviators (i.e., pilots) are Naval Flight Officers and receive the Naval Flight Officer insignia after completion of a flight training syllabus nearly as long as that of their pilot counterparts. Certain naval officers (most notably intelligence and cryptology officers assigned to E-6 Mercury and EP-3E Aries II missions) qualify for the Naval Aviation Observer Badge.

Aircrew wings are issued almost exclusively to enlisted aviation ratings, with the exception of other sailors in other naval ratings who are assigned to aircrew billets, including but not limited to Cryptologists (CT), Information Technicians (IT), Intelligence Specialists (IS), and Hospital Corpsmen (HM). Former enlisted personnel who attain officer status are permitted to continue wear of the insignia. However, for the first three years of enlistment these wings are unobtainable due to recent changes in qualification requirements.